International Society for Engineering Education IUCEE-IGIP International Engineering Educator Certification Program (Empowering Faculty to Prepare World-class Engineers) Project Proposal
CONTENTS 1. Justification 1.1 The need 1.2 The opportunity 1.3 The Expected Outcomes 2. Program Objectives 3. Program Design 3.1 The general Format 3.2 Proposed Course Contents 4. Program Management 5. Program Budget 6. Program Evaluation Appendix I Proposed Curriculum (based on the IGIP Curriculum format)
1. Justification 1.1 - The Need: The lack of competent and well trained faculty in engineering institutions is well recognized. Every year, India produces over 50,000 engineers but several studies including one commissioned by NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) have shown that only one in four engineering graduates is employable. There is concern that the engineers being thrown into the national and international work places are not well-prepared. One of the key reasons identified and emphasized over the past several years is the lack of competent faculty who have both the desired knowledge base and the ability to teach well. It is an established fact that an institution is as good as its faculty! Today, India boasts of having engineering institutions with excellent infrastructure, libraries and labs but as regards faculty, most of these institutions have a large number of vacancies and the a majority of faculty in place are lack the necessary training in teaching technology. At the same time, there is lack of guidance (and perhaps denial) about what is actually required to establish the competence of an engineer entering the teaching profession. The institutions and universities continue to hire/promote faculty on the bases of the their personal scholarship and academic achievements (number of research papers etc.). The student feedback regarding the teaching competency of faculty (if the practice exists in an institute) is neither channeled properly nor taken seriously. Most faculty get tenure after one year of appointment. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the caliber of faculty is raised. 1.2 - The opportunity: Time is absolutely ripe for launching this formal certification program in teaching engineering because of the unique opportunity of bringing together two highly reputed engineering faculty training organizations - IUCEE (USA) & IGIP (Austria). Both these organizations have been involved in training engineering faculty for several years with extraordinary success IUCEE in India and IGIP in 52 countries across the world. The new collaboration proposes to launch an IUCEE-IGIP Engineering Educator Certification Program in India. This international certification program will be fully customized for India and will draw on the wisdom, experience and best practices of teaching engineering in India, USA and Europe. It aspires to: 1. Develop an awareness in both the faculty and the administration that effective teaching skills are as, if not, more important than just mastery of the content area. 2. Provide a much needed formal, internationally recognized qualification for engineers looking to.be world-class educators 3. Provide a holistic program which will not only sharpens the faculty members teaching skills but will also develops their creativity, confidence and leadership skills and professional confidence.
4. Provide an effective tool to the administration for evaluating faculty for hiring, promotions etc. 5. Provide an opportunity to the faculty to interact with and learn from their colleagues across the globe and set-up a support system for other faculty members at the institute. 2. Program Objectives This IUCEE_IGIP certificate program is designed to provide theoretical and practical input for developing the engineering educators in imparting effective, student-centered instruction. At the completion of this program, an engineering educator will be able to: - Introspect and write a personal teaching philosophy statement - Explain the fundamentals of the learning process - Identify students learner profile, specific needs and their learning styles - Design a course plan document (both at the macro & micro levels) - Design and deliver lectures with well-defined learning outcomes and in-class activities - Plan and implement strategies for creating a dynamic classroom, promoting active learning developing student autonomy - Speak English clearly and confidently - Design in-class/group exercises focused on developing critical thinking and problem solving skills - Design and implement Project Based Learning (PBL) strategies - Identify options for incorporating technology in classroom and laboratory instruction - Design effective assessment for in-class, mid-term and final evaluation - Design rubrics for efficient and transparent evaluation. - Plan and write scientific research papers and create impressive poster presentations - Design, create and deliver effective presentations - Work towards enhancing professional effectiveness through the knowledge of key concepts of non-verbal communication, time management, and emotional intelligence. - Implement strategies for teaching specific disciplines Mechanical Engineering, Civii Engineering; Computer Science; Electrical Engineering etc. 3. Program Design: The IUCEE-IGIP certification program will be centrally coordinated by IUCEE. Successful candidates will be awarded a specially designed certificate issued jointly by IUCEE & IGIP. Students will pay the standard fee to IGIP. A program portal will be created which will contain all essential information for the participants. The portal will also have tabs for Post-program Support and International Connections. The IUCEE-IGIP certification program will have two components the theory and the practicum. The theory component will be delivered online (via LMS and Skype) while the practicum will be delivered face-to-face in a three-day workshop. The batch size for each course will be limited to 20. Several batches of the same module/course could run at the same time.
The IUCEE-IGIP Certification program will be based on the IGIP model but will incorporate modifications to meet the academic, cultural and the social needs of engineering education in India. As per IGIP model, the certification program will be worth 20 credits. However, the duration of study for each credit is being reduced from 20 hours to 20 hours of online/self-study. The IUCEE-IGIP lays a great deal of emphasis on Electives which will train the faculty in paraprofessional skills and in teaching specific disciplines. The sponsoring schools/individuals will have the flexibility to register in any of the three Theory sessions and any of the two Practicum sessions offered over the year. The participants will be able to choose any combination of dates according to their personal availability. The face-to face workshops will be offered in two different venues Delhi and Bangalaru The workshops will be scheduled during periods when the faculty is relatively less busy or is on vacation.. 4. Proposed Curriculum: The curriculum for this program will be a customized version of IGIP s prototype curriculum. The customization will aim at accommodating the academic and cultural needs and social realities faced by engineering educators in India. The certificate program will comprise theory and practicum components. In order to earn the IUCEE-IGIP certification, the faculty will need to complete both components of the program. The program will carry 20 credits and each credit will require approximately 25 hours of class work and self-study time. 4.1 The Theory Component - The courseware will be delivered ONLINE using an efficient and financially viable e-learning platform. The theory component will include 4 courses comprising a total of 15 modules. And the Practicum component will include 5 modules amounting to 5 credits. The general structure will be as follows: 1. FOUNDATION S - (3 modules) Engineering Education in India & Abroad; Discovering the Teacher in You; Understanding the learner needs (academic and professional) and learning styles 2. PEDAGOGY THEORY (4 modules) Understanding the Teaching-Learning Process; Promoting Active Learning; Developing Creativity, Motivation and Leadership; and Assessment Design and Implementation 3. PEDAGOGY PRACTICE (5 modules) Using Bloom s Taxonomy to Create Objective-Based Instruction; Course Planning Macro & Micro levels; Designing and Delivering Effective Lectures; Collaborative & Project-based Learning; Technology in Teaching Engineering 4. ELECTIVES - (3 modules) Participants will choose three elective modules from a long list of modules that will be offered in rotation. Electives modules will include topics for both
personal and professional growth. The current list includes modules such as Writing Research Papers; Effective Technical Presentations; Non-verbal Communication, Time Management and modules focusing on teaching specific disciplines such as Teaching Computer science ; Teaching Chemical Engineering ; Teaching Bio-Technology etc. 4.2 The Practicum Component The PRACTICUM will be worth 5 credits and will comprise of 5 modules that will carry the trainee through different aspects of the teaching process. The Practicum will conclude with a final project where each participant will design a sample course incorporating knowledge/strategies learned in different modules of the program. The final project will be presented in a three-day face-to-face workshop. Each educator will present and also evaluate presentations made by other educators and learn from the strategies used by them. Finally, Participants will submit program feedback and identify best practices/strategies that they plan to implement in their classrooms. 5. Program Management 5.1. The Program Coordination Dr. Veena Kumar, Director (Online Programs), School of Arts & Sciences. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA and Ex. Professor and head, Education Technology, IIT Delhi has accepted to design, set-up and launch the International Engineering Educator Certification Program in India and will serve as the Executive Director for the IUCEE-IGIP Certification Program. An experienced education technologist and an active Board Member of IUCEE, Dr. Kumar has managed educational projects sponsored by prestigious organizations like the World Bank, the European Union, the Ministry of Education, India, Commonwealth of Learning, Canada and the British Council. With twenty eight years international experience of working in France, India and USA, she has been involved in: - Planning and delivery of Faculty training programs, - Customizing curricula for specific learner groups, - Design and development of audio-video-internet based instructional materials, and - Development and delivery of online courses 5.2. The Advisory Committee A four member Advisory Committee will guide the Program Coordinator at all stages of the design and launch of this certification program. The committee will approve all issues budget, selection of faculty, signing new collaborations etc.) related to the overall design and management of the program The suggested structure of the Advisory Committee is The Executive Director IUCEE Prof. Krishna Vedula
The President, IGIP Prof. Michael Auer An Expert Engineering Educator from India (By Nomination) The Executive Director, Certification Program Dr. Veena Kumar 5.3. The Academic Committee: A six member Academic Committee will be formed. Senior faculty or administrators will be selected from major engineering institutions. The Academic Committee under the leadership of the Executive Director Certification Program will implement the certification program. Engineering Institutions will be identified to conduct the face-to-face component. A panel of faculty from India and USA will be created for delivering the online and face-to-face components of the program. 6. Project Evaluation Project evaluation will be an important component of the program. The Executive Director, Certification Program will set up a detailed schedule for evaluation with the IGIP Mentoring Committee and other stake-holders faculty, students (who would have experienced the changed strategies used by the faculty in his/her classroom), and the sponsors. The feedback received from each group will be collated and shared with each stack-holder. A follow-up plan will be set up and modifications, if any will be incorporated.